


A Dog's Loyalty

by MathiasHyde



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 14:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10467624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MathiasHyde/pseuds/MathiasHyde
Summary: Kai and Kite are spirits tied to statues in the human world."At least I’m here with you, Eishirou.”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ZeePuri (ZeeCatfish)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeeCatfish/gifts).



He feels it as a tugging deep below his navel, a chain that pulls him abruptly from his slumber in the spirit world and anchors him to the human world. He never could have imagined it would happen, even as the other spirits whispered amongst themselves of others they knew who had vanished forever from their realm.

It was a made up story, to stop spirits from venturing into the human world as they had freely done once upon a time in the past...

It was possibly real, but so rare that the chances of it happening were so slim, so spirits shouldn’t be afraid that they’d be snatched at any moment...

It would never happen to _him_...

It hurts, for minutes, hours, days, for as long as Kai can remember… until it fades into nothingness and he can bring himself to open his eyes. To find himself looking at Eishirou, who he swears he was sleeping next to, so long ago.

–

He’s been in the human world once or twice before in the distant past but it looks different now that he looks around. And he’s sure that he’s never been _here_ , with the trees that stretch on either side of him and a well worn path before him.

“At least I’m here with you, Eishirou.” It’s a small comfort, he admits that, to not be here alone. Eishirou looks at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

“You would get manage to get lost forever at home if I wasn’t there with you.”

Or here in the unknown human world. It is better to stay together, Kai can hear the unspoken words hanging between them.

–

They’re spirits tied to a pair of statues. A man, resplendent in traditional dress and a dog faithfully by his side. Kai rests his elbows on the back of the dog and sighs as he runs his hands over the ears.

“This looks nothing like me at all. They could have at least picked a spirit who matched it.”

The tongue is hanging out of the dog’s mouth and the eyes, even carved from stone as they are, are bright and staring ahead, as though tracking something. The ears are perked up and Kai touches the insides of them.

Eishirou smirks at him, from where he’s sitting perched on the male statue’s shoulder. “I think it fits you perfectly, Kai-kun. They could not have chosen better.”

Kai scowls and flings dirt up at Eishirou. Most of it misses and the little bit that does fly true is blocked easily enough. But it makes Eishirou look at him nonetheless and Kai makes his frown even more exaggerated as he drapes over the back of the dog statue.

The statues look new, with how clean the edges are and how defined the features are. The one Eishirou sits on looks handsome and seems to match with Eishirou perfectly the longer Kai stares at it.

–

They’re in an isolated place, it doesn’t take them long to realise this. There’s a village further down the track that he hears talk of but no matter how much he peers and strains his eyes, he can’t see any sign of it beyond perhaps a few wisps of smoke in the distance. 

Very few people pass by everyday and it’s always the same people that Kai watches, sometimes looking down at as he perches on the head of the man statue, and sometimes as he sits cross legged on the back of the dog.

There are plenty of old people that shuffle by, occasionally with nods at the statues that Kai can’t help himself but return, even as he knows day after day that they can’t see him.

Maybe once or twice he thinks someone can see them, feels like surely their eyes meet as he peers at them from over the dog’s head. But the next time they walk past, their gaze slides over him, even as he sits up a little bit more eagerly over the dog and Kai finds himself sinking back down in disappointment.

“He doesn’t look healthy,” Eishirou comments as one man coughs and wanders past and Kai stares at his back.

He thinks he knows all of the regulars by now, there’s only a few dozen of them. They must live further down the road and go into the village for work.

“He’s still young though!” Sure, there’s speckling of grey in his hair, but Kai swears it was only a little while ago that the man was but a younger boy that passed them every so often.

The man doesn’t return though after that, even as Kai counts heads that pass day by day and he sighs, resting his chin on the dog’s head.

“Humans age weirdly,” he says and Eishirou hums in agreement.

–

There’s a bird, that flits past and lands on the man statue’s head every so often. Its song is more luting trills than anything else and it ruffles its wing feathers as it sings.

It comes back regularly, for years. Year after year as the snow settles thickly on them even as Kai tries to brush it off the dog’s face to keep him alert.

The flowers at least seem to follow close behind the bird and Kai doesn’t mind it too much since it means they have more people to watch in spring. It’s always silent around their area when the snow sticks.

It’s always the same bird, Kai’s sure of it as he stares it at again this year. It always ruffles its feathers in the same way, and he swears the trilling is the same every year as well. There’s a small streak of blue in its under feathers and Kai puffs air at it.

And rears back in shock as the bird changes form, into something human-spirit shaped with hair as yellow as the feathers had been.

The spirit laughs and reaches out a hand that Kai immediately shies away from, at least until Eishirou interferes, pushing the hand out of the way.

“Hirakoba-kun, leave him alone.”

Hirakoba pauses and sighs before he rests his forearms on the head of the statue. “Fine, just this once, for you.”

Kai stares between them, at Eishirou who seems unconcerned with it all as he returns to his contemplation and to Hirakoba who is still watching him with much the same amused expression as before.

“How do you two know each other?”

He doesn’t recognise the newcomer from their time in the spirit world, and there’s something unknown in the air around him that makes Kai wary. Even with Eishirou being considered one of the stronger spirits in their number, there was something unfamiliar to Hirakoba that he hasn’t encountered before.

“We met, while you were sleeping away winter a few years ago. You were snoring, it was very noisy.”

Oh.

Sometimes it’s difficult to stay awake through the days that meld into each other. Eishirou has never said anything about him falling asleep for long periods of time before though, and Kai wonders how often it happens.

How often is Eishirou left sitting alone here at the deserted statues?

“I’m surprised Hirakoba-kun has kept coming back. You could take another path and your journey would be significantly faster.” Eishirou’s voice cuts across Kai’s thoughts and Kai looks at them again.

Hirakoba smiles and moves to the face of the man statue. “But I have to come and see my favourite person every year,” he says and he cups the statue’s face in his hands and Kai stares as Hirakoba leans in to press his lips against the stone. “Or else spring doesn’t seem as enjoyable.”

Kai feels a weird flush spread across his face as he watches Hirakoba kiss it again and he flings dirt up at the male. It misses, but it’s enough to make Hirakoba jerk away, his eyebrows raising slightly.

Eishirou is ignoring them, his eyes are closed and Kai glances at him for a moment before he looks back at Hirakoba.

“Get going, then. You’ve been here, you can move on now,” he finds himself saying and he frowns more.

Hirakoba laughs and shrugs. “See you next year, then. Don’t get too lonely without me”

Kai doesn’t know who that’s directed to but he tries not to think about it as Hirakoba changes back into a bird that flits through the air away from them. And as Kai stares after him, he doesn’t seem to be as much of a bird as he’d thought so before.

–

Has the statue always looked this worn, Kai wonders as he stares at the male’s face. How long has it been since he’s really examined it?

The cheeks are certainly smoother and the features not as sharply defined as he can see in his memory when he closes his eyes. Where once he thought he could pick out every individual eyebrow hair that had been masterfully carved into the stone, there’s just a blur that Kai runs his fingers over.

It still resembles Eishirou though, just a bit, as Kai continues to look at it. Almost without thinking his hands have come up to hold its cheeks and he flushes as his gaze moves down to the almost featureless lips now. 

It’s safer to go sit down with his dog statue with his back to Eishirou than to let himself dwell on it any more.

–

It’s lonely, in a weird way, Kai supposes. The humans can’t see them even when Kai drops flowers on their heads or when he trips them up. They just look up in confusion at the tress above them, or look at the ground and grumble about roots or rocks that get under their feet.

But Eishirou’s there with him, though the disapproval in his voice gives way to just a tired resignation as he tells him “Kai-kun, leave them alone”. 

Hirakoba visits, once a year when winter is fading and stops to talk even as Kai shoos him away with snow blown at his face. But there’s no one else besides that, to disrupt their quiet existence together.

–

It’s been another quiet winter with an occasional visitor that shuffles past or jumps through the snow and Kai dozes against the statue. Sometimes he looks down and sees Eishirou’s eyes closed as he leans against the foot of his statue, but he always seems awake and alert whenever Kai talks to him.

He finds himself almost anticipating the arrival of Hirakoba when he feels like the snow has been piled on the ground for too long and it’s almost a relief when he spots the lone shape of the bird swooping through the trees towards them.

That relief quickly dies.

“If you’re jealous of me kissing a statue, Kai, you just had to say something.”

Hirakoba grabs him by the hair and there’s lips on his own suddenly and Kai freezes.

The bird spirit is warm and _alive_ and laughs as he’s pulled away by Eishirou. Moments ago, Kai swears Eishirou’s eyes had been closed, but now the spirit seems as alert as ever.

Eishirou gets a kiss too – soft and fleeting before Hirakoba grins and quickly backs away.

“See you two next year,” he calls as he turns back into his bird form and flies away. 

His visits are never long, with at most him lingering for a few days. He hops on any part of the statue he can perch on, singing at people that pass by and they look up to smile. People can see _him_ , they’ve learned, but they don’t seem to notice when Kai sings along with Hirakoba and Hirakoba punches him to make him be quiet.

Spring always follows Hirakoba, whose trilling as he dips through the air on a breeze that sometimes doesn’t exist to anyone but him, seems to usher it in behind him.

–

There’s a boy that passes by sometimes and always stops to look at the statues when he does. He seems to grow up, faster than anything Kai’s ever seen, year after year he always comes by just after Hirakoba leaves and the snow melts.

And every time, he stands just that bit taller next to the statue.

There’s always an old man with him, who gets older with each visit as well and Kai stares at him. Eishirou hasn’t said anything about the man being sickly though, so Kai doesn’t worry. Eishirou’s always the first one to notice when age and time are catching up to people, even as Kai squints at the grey streaking through their hair and so easily remembers them when they were young and kicking dirt up with their feet.

Hiroshi, the old man calls him and Kai leans over the head of the man statue as they pass by that year.

“Hi Hiroshi,” he calls out and Kai squeaks and hides behind the head o the man statue as the boy looks up at him and Kai is definitely sure the boy’s eyes catch his own.

“Hello to you too.”

Kai peeks around the statue and the boy looks away eventually, trotting after his old man companion.

“Who were you talking to, Hiroshi?” they ask.

“There’s a dog spirit up there.”

“Is there? We’ll have to come back later and leave him an offering.”

That makes him pause and he huffs, looking down at himself. “I’m not a dog spirit!” he calls out and Kai hides again as the boy turns around to look at him over his shoulder again.

–

They do come back, not too many days after and Eishirou watches the boy whose eyes slide over both of them. He definitely sees them both and Kai stares at him from on top of the man statue.

He’s nearly as tall as it now and Kai wonders when he got that big.

“Here, dog spirit.” There’s an offering left nearby and the boy nods at both of them before leaving again.

There’s again no reaction to Kai calling out “I’m not a dog spirit” after him, and Kai just sighs and sinks to the ground to inspect the present they were left. He doesn’t know what to say at the stuffed toy with a squeaker inside that scares him when he first squeezes it.

\--

It’s not long after Hirakoba departs for the year that a shadow descends upon them. The snow has started to melt now and Kai can peer down at the ground to see flowers starting to bud already. In a few days there will be flowers blooming and it’ll be like the long winter had never happened.

With the shadow comes a large heavy body that settles and crushes the flowers beneath it. There are claws too, that scrape along the ground, tearing up what Kai imagines to be the fragile roots in the ground.

He’s seen them, once, when he’d ventured down to the ground to carefully dig up one of the plants to look at its root system. It had taken many tries to not just tear the plant stem and he’d carefully shaken the dirt off to show Eishirou.

“I can smell that wandering god around here.”

One of the heavy feet rests on Kai’s dog statue and he can feel the weight in his own chest, pressing down even as he moves away from the physical statue. There’s something predatory in the creature’s voice and Kai stares at the teeth that part as it speaks.

“The wandering god is long gone. Can’t you tell from the flowers?” Eishirou says. He at least is unconcerned as he sits, almost bored looking.

“You’re lying! I can smell him here. On this person here.”

There’s teeth now, reaching towards him and Kai squeaks. It’s a dragon, he realises as the teeth snap close just inches away from him.

“He comes once every year. Come back then and you can eat him.”

Kai can feel the hot breath on his face and time seems to stretch for an eternity before the beast moves back and he can let himself breathe again in relief.

“Fine.”

–

“Is he here yet?”

The foot is once again resting on the dog statue and Kai crouches behind it, watching the eyes that look around their area. It’s autumn, the leaves are changing colour and there’s certainly the feeling of winter approaching in the air.

“Not yet. Try again later.”

–

“Ah, Tanishi-kun is back,” Eishirou says and Kai looks up, spotting the dark shadow above them as the dragon from before circles above them.

It’s winter now, with snow that settles in heavy layers on the ground and Kai has to dust off the head of his dog statue every day.

“How do you know his name?!” The unspoken ‘he tried to eat me’ hangs between them as Kai stares hard at Eishirou.

“Because I listen, Kai-kun. And I don’t sleep for years at a time.”

There’s no rebuke in Eishirou’s words, they’ve been sitting here for far too long for that to have any effect on him anymore. Kai hums and sits crosslegged on the back of his dog statue, staring up at the dark shadow that’s slowly circling down.

He doesn’t know how to feel about this.

–

Hirakoba does eventually show up, on time as ever as he swoops through the trees and lands on the man statue’s head to sing.

The snow is extra deep this year and the trickle of people past their spot has all but stopped. He wonders how many people are still around… perhaps he’ll ask Eishirou later when the warmer weather has properly settled in and they emerge again.

“What’s a wandering god?” he asks instead and Hirakoba changes forms, wrapping himself around the man statue as he peers around it to look down at Kai.

“A god that’s not tied to a particular place, I imagine,” Hirakoba says and Kai stares at him as he runs his fingers down the features of the statue. There’s almost no definition to it now and at one point the nose came off. But even the rough edges where that had once been attached have been worn down over time to smooth edges.

Even his own dog looks remarkably less alert and Kai blows on the snow that’s settled into its eyes.

“Do dragons eat wandering gods?”

That brings Hirakoba up short for a moment and he blinks at Kai before resting his chin on his hands and looking down at him. “Perhaps? I don’t know.”

“There’s a dragon trying to eat you,” Kai adds helpfully, but Hirakoba doesn’t look too concerned as he continues to watch him.

“He’s been trying to eat me for a few years. It’s good for him, I’m making him fly around the world.”

Kai doesn’t know how to feel about that reasoning but Hirakoba seems to be entertained enough by it as he laughs to himself and looks up at the sky. Kai follows his gaze, but there’s nothing but blue skies and drifting clouds above them with no signs of looming shadows with hot breaths and sharp teeth.

“Can a wandering god ever get tied to a place?” he asks finally, breaking the silence between them,

“Oh, yes.” There’s an odd smile on Hirakoba’s face and he tilts his head slightly as though thinking about something. “A rabbit god recently found his home, in fact. Such a shame, he was so cute. Now I have to travel out of my way to go and see him.”

“What about you?”

Hirakoba smiles and shrugs. “I never said I was a wandering god, Kai,” he says and Kai notices Kite glances up at them quickly a slight crease in between his eyebrows.

But as Hirakoba flies away, singing his usual trills and Kai watches the snow almost melt before his eyes over the next few days, he really does have to believe that Hirakoba is one.

\--

It’s inevitable that eventually Tanishi would appear when Hirakoba was there. How long have they been playing this chase through? How many passings has he slept through? He doesn’t know, and Eishirou just looks at him and refuses to say anything when he asks.

Kai hears the “Wandering god!” as the heavy shadow falls out of the sky towards them and teeth snap closed where Hirakoba had been just moments before he flinched back.

The head of the man statue cracks on impact but none of them notice as Kite tenses up slightly, all of their attention elsewhere.

“I’ve been waiting to eat you. Stay still.”

Hirakoba snorts in derision. “The waiting doesn’t seem to have helped you. You should have chased me for a few more years, you’re still fat.”

Tanishi’s much too close for comfort and it doesn’t help that Hirakoba insists on staying close to Kai who can feel the heat from the dragon as it draws nearer.

Not that it seems to bother Hirakoba, who taunts and laughs, and for a few times his laughter sounds almost like the trilling of his bird form.

“Both of you, stop.”

It’s Eishirou who speaks this time, making them all look at him. The other spirit sounds tired as he stares at them both, his eyes scanning over Hirakoba who looks bored and shrugs, to staring hard at Tanishi who looks back at him for a long while until he finally backs away.

“Take your fight elsewhere if you’re going to have one.”

Perhaps he’s faking the tiredness; it seems to be working anyway as Tanishi backs down again and Hirakoba finally moves out from behind Kai towards the statue of the man. The movement draws Kai’s attention to it.

It’s… been damaged, deep cracks running through its face and he can only say it’s a miracle that the head hasn’t fallen off. There’s no sign of the handsomeness of the face now though and Kai looks down to the ground at the pieces of rubble he can spot.

“Fine, just let me say goodbye and then I can continue helping the fat dragon to lose weight.”

Hirakoba runs his fingers over the cracks in the statue’s face and he sighs. “It’s just not as handsome anymore. Eishirou, you’ll have to be its substitute.”

Eishirou just sighs as Hirakoba moves in closer and Kai almost expects him to block the move with his hand or push Hirakoba away or do something other than just sit there and let him, as if Eishirou really was tired and couldn’t be bothered instead of it being an act.

Hirakoba certainly doesn’t look pleased as he pulls away and he pulls a face. “It’s not as fun when you just let me do it, Eishirou,” he says.

… How often have they done it before when he hasn’t been around? Kai decides very quickly that he doesn’t want to know, even as the question niggles at him.

“Time to go. See you both next year.”

He turns into a bird and Kai waves as he flies away, purposely going through the trees that he normally avoids. “I doubt you can fit through the trees, Tanishi-kun,” he can hear being called out by Hirakoba as the bird flies away, followed by what almost seems like mocking trills.

Tanishi huffs and Kai blinks as for a moment he can see a human shape standing there in the snow instead of the dragon. But when he blinks again, it’s gone and the looming dragon is back again, baring his teeth.

“Stupid bird.”

The air moves and Kai feels himself being flattened against the statue as the dragon beats his wings and lifts up into the air to chase Hirakoba.

\--

Eishirou goes to sleep as Tanishi leaves and Kai sees the statue start to crumble more. He’s never wondered just how closely they’re tied to their statues and Kai stares at the damage closely, rubbing his fingers along the broken surface.

It’s true that the features have faded over time, on both of their statues, but surely there’s been no actual changes to their existences?

Has Eishirou maybe becoming more tired as the years have gone on?

Has _he_ become more tired as the dog becomes less alert looking? Kai doesn’t know, it’s hard to remember what it was like and how long ago it was that he was in the spirit world and not here.

Eishirou disappears when he goes to sleep, Kai’s learned this and wonders if it’s the same case with him. But if he presses his ear against the statue, he can hear something, almost like Eishirou’s breathing deep inside as he rests.

It’s much quieter without the other spirit here to keep him company and Kai stares at the sky, searching almost for a sign of a bird or a dragon, even though he can see the bright flowers around him and knows it’s much too far distant for them to be here.

How long have they been here, anyway?

He just knows that some of the people that he saw when he first moved here, haven’t been past in a very long time. Eishirou’s always been the one to keep vague track of things.

Time moves weirdly in the human world and humans age weirdly too.

He decided that a long time ago as well.

–

“Hey Eishirou, are you awake yet?”

It’s lonely here without you.

–

It seems like an age before Hirakoba appears again and Kai can’t express the relief he feels when he spots the small form swooping through the air towards him. Eishirou’s still sleeping and Kai looks at the headless statue with the crumbled remains of its face on the ground, covered by a thick pile of snow.

“Where’s Eishirou?” Hirakoba says as he alights on the head of the dog. One of the ears has come off and Kai rubs at the stub. He doesn’t know when that happened.

“He’s asleep.”

“Still? Or recently?”

Kai doesn’t answer. It’s been a long year and he doesn’t think he’s gone to sleep himself in that time either. The days have dragged into one another and even though he’s knocked on the statue a few times and called out Eishirou’s name, theres been no response.

“What a shame, I can’t move on without a kiss from my favourite person.” Hirakoba looks at the statue and sighs. “You’re just not a good enough substitute, Kai.”

He’d be insulted over that, but Kai just flushes and looks away. The kiss between the two of them was too fresh in his mind from last year.

Hirakoba looks around them and crosses his legs as he settles next to Kai. “I suppose I can stay here for a little while, at least until Eishirou wakes up to let me move on.”

–

“Eishirou, Hirakoba is here waiting for you with me too.”

I’m still lonely.

–

“The fat dragon is here again.”

Hirakoba’s words jerk Kai out of his contemplation of the ground around them. Spring had come, but much slower than it normally did, following Hirakoba’s usual departure.

There is indeed a shadow over them that is coming lower as Kai looks up as well. 

The landing is as loud and heavy as ever and Kai can see the dilating of Tanishi’s pupils as he looks at both of them sitting on top of the dog statue together.

“Wandering god, why are you still here?”

Hirakoba fluffs up slightly and Kai can almost imagine the fluffing of his feathers as Hirakoba draws himself up and looks down his nose at Tanishi.

“I’m waiting to talk to Eishirou. You’ll just have to wait for me.”

There’s a long pause before Tanishi huffs and settles his bulk down in the grass and Hirakoba eyes him warily. He’s close enough that Kai can feel the heat from the dragon body as he reaches his hands out. All too soon though, Tanishi’s changing, settling into the human form that Kai had seen before.

“Fine. I have to talk to Eishirou too, so I’ll wait. When does he get back?”

Kai shrugs and looks at the statue. It looks even more dilapidated than when he’d last let himself look at it.

“He’s asleep. I don’t know when he’ll wake up.”

Tanishi is watching him closely but Kai pays it no mind as he focuses on the statue’s face.

\--

Time seems to pass a bit easier with both Hirakoba and Tanishi there with him. They still bicker but otherwise seem happy enough to just half ignore each other and spend time with Kai.

Just a few times, it’s easy enough to let himself turn his back on the statue and pretend like Eishirou was just doing his quiet contemplation thing where he falls silent for months at a time except when Kai asks him little inane questions to make sure he’s still paying attention. And it’s easy to laugh and drink as Hirakoba returns from the nearby village with a bottle of sake tucked under his arm.

At least until Kai turns around to offer Eishirou a drink he’ll probably reject and his hand holding the bottle falls down and he makes himself turn back around to see Hirakoba and Tanishi watching him with matching odd expressions.

–

“Oh, the dog spirit is still here.” The boy is back, though as Kai looks at him, he’s definitely not the same age as he had been the last time Kai remembers seeing him.

He’s significantly taller for one.

And he can definitely see him, and the others too, Kai realises as their gaze moves over Hirakoba and Tanishi sitting nearby.

“And the dog spirit has friends. Hello, I’m Chinen Hiroshi.”

They all look at each other and Hirakoba waves, smiling and friendly enough from where he’s perched. Tanishi’s hand lifts slightly and Kai supposes that probably counts as a wave.

“What are you doing?” The boy looks around their space and Kai is suddenly very glad that the empty bottles of sake have vanished as they now sit amongst the falling autumn leaves.

“We’re waiting for my friend,” Kai says and Chinen nods understandingly.

“I’m waiting for my friend too, I’ll wait here with you.”

Kai doesn’t know how to feel as he watches Chinen sit down on the ground near him and pull out a book. Tanishi and Hirakoba for once are quiet as well and Hirakoba alights down from the statue head in his bird form to hop on the ground near Chinen curiously.

That just gets him a vague pat on the head that makes Hirakoba skitter back and Tanishi huffs quietly in laughter that sends the pages in Chinen’s book ruffling as if the dragon form is still there.

–

Chinen comes back the next day as well and takes up a seat in the same spot as before. Kai knows it’s the next day because he watched the sun set and rise again and Chinen’s tracks in the dirt are still there from the day before.

This continues for a few days before Kai finally moves down to sit next to Chinen.

“Who are you waiting for, anyway?”

“My friend Eishirou, he’s somewhere around here.”

Kai doesn’t know how to respond to that and he crosses his legs, looking around as he thinks about what to say. Tanishi is sleeping, curled up on himself and earlier Kai was sure he saw a fluffy Hirakoba in his bird form tucked up close. Though he imagines that if he brings up the idea with the two of them later, both will deny it.

 _I don’t know if Eishirou’s going to wake up..._ he wants to say, but the words get stuck in his throat. And perhaps he doesn’t want to say it, doesn’t want to admit it out loud.

“He keeps meeting people without me knowing until much later,” Kai says instead, letting himself puff up a little in indignation as he does. “He needs to stop doing that.”

Chinen laughs and pats him on the head and Kai’s gaze wanders over to the stone that lies at the feet of the man statue. There’s autumn leaves now around it, hiding the rubble that Kai knows is still there.

“You sleep more than he does, he said,” Chinen says and Kai’s eyebrows draw together. “He talks to others when you’re sleeping.”

Who else has Eishirou spoken to that Kai doesn’t know about? His gaze flicks up to the mangled face of the statue and he can so easily see Eishirou just sitting up there and raising an eyebrow at him even as he thinks about that question.

“Yeah, well….” Kai’s lost for words for a moment and he huffs. “Eishirou’s been sleeping now a lot longer than I ever have.”

That’s a lie and he knows it, but he doesn’t care. He tries not to think about how quiet it must have been for Eishirou as he’d slept.

Chinen pats him on the head again and turns the page of his book. It’s got pictures of flowers in it and Kai wonders if he’d dropped flowers on top of Chinen at some point growing up.

“We’ll keep waiting then, until he wakes up.”

Kai droops a little at that, but perks up as he hears Hirakoba calling out to them both. He’s back, more bottles tucked up under his arm.

It’s enough to wake up Tanishi and even Chinen gets a bottle pushed into his hands at some point though none of them are sure how he’ll take it.

It’s easier to wait and not think about Eishirou being asleep still when he’s tucked up into Tanishi’s side and laughing while Hirakoba sways a little on top of the dog statue. Perhaps waiting like this isn’t so bad, he lets himself think for a passing moment before Tanishi shoves another bottle into Chinen’s arms and it chases any thoughts like that out of his mind again.

\--

Eishirou, we’re all waiting for you.


End file.
